Welcome Go-to Gal, Teri Anderson!

Susan R. Opel

And now for the last of our big reveals – please welcome Paper Crafts Go-to Gal, Teri Anderson! It’s been a long, secretive journey, but like any good Paper Crafts soldier, Teri has served her magazine honorably (and discreetly!) and has thus earned her day in the spotlight. In fact, she just told me this week, “I’m mean it’s light at the end of the secrecy tunnel, baby!”

Since Teri knew she would have the last laugh with her announcement today, she’s been leaving cryptic comments for all of her fellow Go-to Gals. Here’s just a few that brought smiles to our faces:

Jessica: “Congrats Jess! I’m so happy to see you are one of the new GTGs! Such a great group of gals you are with.”

Maren: “Yay, Maren! I’m so happy for you. You are quite the secret keeper!”

Kim Hughes: “Yay Kim! You are one of my favorites, ya know. Congrats! Can’t wait to see who joins you and Kim K. on the team!”

That jokester! Just another reason why we love this gal… Besides her quick wit, Teri’s instantly recognizable simple and graphic designs certainly inspire me, and we look forward to sharing her talents with you, our readers!

So sit back a bit and learn some fascinating stuff about totally talented Teri!  

Go-to Gal Teri Anderson

1. Where did you grow up? I grew up in the Pacific Northwest near Portland, Oregon. 

2. Do you work outside the home? If so, what do you do? I occasionally work a day here and there as an extra for movies. I’ve been an extra for Untraceable, The Burning Plain, and a yet untitled movie starring Harrison Ford, Keri Russell, and Brendan Fraser. I’ve been on a call a few times for other projects as well.

[Ladies, Teri was almost an extra on the set of Twilight! She came this close to seeing Robert Pattinson in all of his vampire glory! Personally, I'm glad Hollywood didn't snatch this gal up. They couldn't handle her talent anyway.]

3. If a movie were to be made of your life, who would you cast to play the part of you? Drew Barrymore. It seems like she doesn’t take herself too seriously.

4. What song would you choose as the theme song for your life? “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey.

5. What is one thing most people would be surprised to hear about you? I once spent a summer as an intern for a professional roller hockey team. I wrote post-game press releases, represented the team at a couple small-town parades, gave players rides home, and did pretty much anything else asked of me.

6. What/who inspired you to start paper crafting? I saw Becky Higgins’ Creative Cards: The Complete Guide to Card Making book. I had scrapbooked and made a few cards with stamps before that, but Becky’s book really clicked with me. It inspired me to use supplies I’d been using for scrapbook pages on cards. Six or seven years later I’m still making cards.

7. What is your biggest paper crafting challenge? No matter how many times I say that I won’t hoard, I think it will always be using up those special things I’ve tucked away.

8. If you were only allowed two items to create a card beside cardstock and adhesive, what would they be? Letter stickers and a corner rounder.

Teri’s Relax Card is soothing with its simple and serene landscape. It was featured in Card Creations: Quick & Easy, which means you can make it in 5 steps or less!

9. What is your favorite occasion or holiday to paper craft and why? I love to make general occasion cards. I also have a thing for making encouragement and sympathy cards. I really like the challenge of trying to come up with just the right words for those situations.

10. How would you describe your style? Paper crafting for the busy gal or guy. I tend to make projects that do not take a lot of time. My style is simple yet a little bit funky with a few flecks of technique on top. I stray once in awhile, but I am generally happiest with my simplest projects.

Teri's You Measure Up Card appears in our upcoming September/October issue.

11.When is your favorite time to craft? I’m a total night owl, so I love working late at night.

12. What sort of music do you listen to while crafting? I make no secret that I have great appreciation for John Mayer’s music, but I also like a lot of other musicians. Nirvana, Jessica Harp, Goo Goo Dolls, The Rolling Stones, Sheryl Crow, Maroon 5 and the Lovehammers are also favorites of mine.

13. How does your family participate in your paper crafting passion? My mom does it, too. We like to go to conventions and crops together.

14. When it comes to calls and deadlines, how do you keep yourself organized? I keep lists. I have a clipboard which has assignments and calls that I want to work on and follow-up work I need to do.

15. Do you remember what Paper Crafts issue your first project appeared in? How has your style changed since then? I had a tag in the second issue of Paper Crafts. It was a baby tag and had cute baby stickers on it. My style has changed a few times since then but has finally settled on a “less is more” look.

Teri's Smile Card was featured in our March/April 2009 issue.

16. What are you looking forward to most about being a Paper Crafts Go to Gal? Um. Pretty much everything.

17. Have you contributed to any design teams in the past or present? If so, which ones? I’m currently on one design team, a rubber stamp company called Art Declassified. In the past I’ve also been on the design teams for Wordsworth, Paper Love Designs and SEI. I also did some design work for Webster’s Pages in their early days.

18. Name three designers whose styles you like and why they appeal to you.  

• Danni Reid has such a simply complicated style that I just love. Her cards are so clean, but they have a lot of great little details that put them over the top. 
• Alli Miles makes so many cheery, stamped cards. They make me want to dig out my stamps and play.
• Linda Beeson is a card maker whom I have admired for years. She is one of the first designers who caught my eye in Paper Crafts because her cards are so well-designed and thought out. It always excites me to see one of her projects.

19. Do you have any advice/tips for someone who’s never been published or who wants to submit for the first time?

• Watch for the calls. This blog is a great place to find out about new calls. [Just posted March/April 2010!]
• Don’t fuss over submitting, just take the chance. Pick a call you like, make a couple cards and submit. If they do not get picked up, don’t give up. Try again.
• Try not to lose your joy for paper crafting. If submitting takes the fun out of it for you, take a breather and step back a minute. No one is going to get mad at you for not submitting. Just enjoying the paper crafting process.

Wow! It’s amazing to think that we have a movie star in our midst. I, for one, am a little star struck! And I’m so with you, Teri – Don’t Stop Believin’!

Head on over to Teri’s blog, and see her card of the day. Her cute cards seem almost like little people since Teri asks her readers to “meet” each card. And you’ll definitely benefit from her tips and techniques that she throws in each day.

So let’s give Teri a ton of Paper Crafts love today and a big high-five for being a Paper Crafts Go-to Gal! I’ll pick five lucky people to receive three sets of Art Declassified stamps. All comments must be received by midnight (MDT) on Friday, July 24. The winners will be announced on Monday’s blog!

Rolling out a big welcome mat for Teri,
Susan

P.S. Today is the last day to vote for our button-themed round of Gallery Idol! Click here to see the Top 10’s cards and to vote for your favorite project. Note: Voting ends at 12:00 p.m. (MST), so make sure you get to the “polls” early! And check back here tomorrow when we announce the Top 5 finalists!

P.P.S. It’s time to announce the three winners from Brandy’s Welcome Go-to Gal, Jessica Witty post! Here they are in no particular order:

1. Jennifer Scull (July 22, 12:47 a.m.)
2. Karisa (July 21, 8:42 a.m.)
3. Tina B. (July 21, 8:14 a.m.)

Congrats, ladies! You’ve each won a copy of Stamp It! Cards and some itty bitty stamps. Kelly will be contacting you shortly to get your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments for Jessica!